Huge scrapbook catch up post

Ah, life! It has been so busy around here lately! I'm still working hard on my goal of finishing my 2012 scrapbook by the end of February. At the same time, I am working on the My Memories Cover to Cover series to stay on top of 2013 (and 2011). That is a lot of scrapbooking! 

This week I finished my second two page layout for both our Chicago trip and the second circus we attended last year. I only have four single pages left to do to finish my book! 

Kit is Rawr! And will be retiring next month so grab it for $0.99 if you like it! 

Kit is Birthday Circus. Sketch inspiration found here. 

I was also able to participate in the Speed Scrap on Sunday and used the opportunity to get a page for my 2011 book done. Hooray! 

Kit is I Love Rock 'N Roll

I completed my first page for 2013 loosely based on a sketch I found on Pinterest.  I am so excited about the prospect of being caught up and staying caught up! I love being able to look through actual printed albums and share them with my friends and family! 

Sketch inspiration found here. Background paper and music elements from this freebie. 

So, there was my week in Scrapbook pages. What have you been up to? 

Mystery Block of the Month

Riley Blake, known for their chevrons, is hosting a Mystery Block of the Month for 2013. Of course, their first block is a chevron pattern! It's cute, free and lasts until September! 

I would love to have went out and bought new fabric for this, but I really, really have to get my stash cut down. It's hard to convince myself I need more when there are totes stacked up taller than me in the basement holding all sorts of goodies. So, given the small scale of this first block I chose the Timeless Treasures mini owls and some coordinating prints from my stash.  

I'm pretty happy with it. It's cute, but boyish, which doesn't happen in my sewing too often! I have some navy blue, bright yellow, orange and brown that I plan on using later. Block two comes out the second Monday in February, so there's still plenty of time to join up and be caught up! 

This kind of flies in the face of my resolution to try and quilt one thing at a time, but I figure that I'm not really good at that, and perhaps a forced once a month break from my other projects will help keep me on track? Or maybe I'm just justifying the fact that I want to participate! 

Now...what do I do with my block until September? How do I store it so it isn't frayed to bits by then? Any advice from you regular BOMers? 

Two Page Scrapbook Layout

Okay, okay, I promise that I fully intend to start sewing something tonight (or at least fabric cutting tonight), but in the meantime, you just have to bear with me as I finish up scrapping 2012. I'm getting really close! 

Source: sketchsupport.com via Melinda on Pinterest

I pinned this page sketch because I thought that little banner was really fun and would make a great circus layout. When I pinned it, I didn't even know that my circus kit actually had a near identical banner in it! That was a pleasant surprise! 

Kit is Birthday Circus with added popcorn

I made the basic background of my page and then inserted a duplicate. The banners, ribbon and papers lined up perfectly this way! I opted to put the small cluster of three photos on the opposite page and put a journal tag and an embellishment cluster in their place. I think this turned out so fun! It's one of the few pages I had to redo and I'm glad I got the chance. This is way better than my original that I lost in the hard drive crash! 

Scrapbook pages & a special request

Kit is Siblings are Forever

I did the Speed Scrap last night on the My Memories Facebook page. I needed a single page in my 2012 book that I'm finishing up to keep a two page layout together, so even though I am planning on doing a separate book of the kids professional photos, I created a single page highlighting how hectic that day was. These are some of my favorites of the "bad" pictures, because you can just see how each kid was doing their own thing! 

Kit and alpha are Forest Friends

I also made a page for our lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. I'm getting so close to finishing 2012! I used a Mye De Leon kit for this page, which brings me to the special request part of this post. Mye has been a favorite designer of mine for a long time, and she needs help. I have used her kits to create some of my favorite pages like this one and this one.

If you are a digital scrapper, please consider buying something from Mye, as she is desperately trying to raise money for a surgery her newborn son needs to live! There is also a place to directly donate and a $20 mega kit that you can purchase to benefit her sweet baby! Nothing like fueling your habits and helping out a great cause! 

Catching up!

I've been playing a lot in My Memories this week! I made a second page for my pumpkin patch photos that did not include the awesome pumpkin gun. 

I also have been working on making a page template that works for two page layouts, as I have quite a few to configure for my 2012 book (that I am nearly finished with)! So here is my stab at it...I'm going to use it again for pictures from the museum and we'll see how it looks then. I like this page, but I think with the little paper ribbons it might be a little too distinctive to use multiple times in a book? I'm not sure! I think it will be okay to use it for all of the Chicago pages, as it will tie them together nicely, but maybe not for my other two page layouts? 

Monday Moments Scrapbook Edition

Are you getting tired of the scrapbook pages yet? I hope not! I still have several more to complete before I even start 2013 (and 2011?)! 

Last night was the Speed Scrap on My Memories Facebook page. When we were told to have three photos ready I quickly looked through the list of pages I wanted to complete and saw an event that I had three great photos for. 

Kit is called Falling for You, but I think it's retired...sorry! 

We've been searching for a new pumpkin patch since our old one went crazy raising their prices and started making us wait in 20 minute lines (always fun with kids)! Every year we have auditioned a new place, and I think we may have found a winner! The kids had so much fun playing with the pumpkin gun here! Gabe even shot it off a couple times before the noise bothered him too much...that boy doesn't even like the hand dryers in public restrooms, so that says a lot! I'll be turning this into a two page layout with the rest of the photos from that day.

Two new scrapbook pages

In my last post, I listed the scrapbook pages I hope to complete for 2012, and to my surprise, there weren't many! I spent some time pinning page sketches and have decided to try and complete my entire book by the end of next month (I have a free photo book coupon that expires then)! Normally, sketches are where I turn when I'm just stuck about something, but I'm starting out with them now because I'm in a bit of a time crunch, but still want a customized look.

Sketch inspiration here, kit used is Flakes and Fun

Sketch inspiration here, free alphas here. 

I combined a few things and tried some new for Victoria's soccer page! The kit I used for this one is Hoo-Who Loves You and I think the colors and patterns are really great for tween and teen girls! However, owls were not what I was looking for on this page. I took a soccer ball from another kit and tried out the new recolor feature in My Memories. I think it turned out pretty good! Of course, I mentioned before that recoloring does mess with the shadows, so I had to create and shadow a second circle to place behind them, but I don't think you can tell! I'm so glad this feature is available now, otherwise I would have had to buy a whole new kit just to get a ball that wasn't orange!